00:00Is the EU about to start scanning your text messages?
00:05For years, claims have been circulating that the European Union wants to enable governments
00:10and private companies to read people's text messages as part of a planned law
00:14clamped down on online child sexual abuse.
00:17Recently, these claims have intensified with users alleging the blog will scan all encrypted messages
00:23even as they're being typed, making users fear for their privacy.
00:27It's often referred to as chat control.
00:30But the idea that Europeans have to brace themselves for the immediate end of private messaging is misleading.
00:36The possibility of scanning private messages is part of this planned new law on child sexual abuse
00:41and it is indeed being considered.
00:43But the Commission is proposing specific and limited detection orders.
00:47While there are legitimate concerns that this could spell the end of digital privacy as we know it,
00:52proponents insist that detection orders do not apply by default to everyone
00:56and would be limited in time and scope.
00:59They would also have to be requested by a national authority
01:02and then approved by a court or an independent authority.
01:05Secondly, the Commission's proposal is only the starting point.
01:08For the law to pass, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU
01:11both need to agree on exactly the same text, which has not happened yet.
01:15In fact, the Parliament has already voted for changes that go against broad scanning,
01:20especially for encrypted apps.
01:22And the Council is itself split.
01:24A majority of countries like France, Spain and Italy are in favour of strong scanning rules,
01:29while Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have said they will not accept them.
01:33Others, including Germany and Belgium, remain undecided.
01:36Because of this division, several planned votes have been delayed.
01:39A new one is now scheduled on the 12th of September.
01:42So, there is a legitimate debate about whether this proposed law
01:46can tread the line between safeguarding children on one hand
01:49and ensuring online privacy on the other.
01:51But panic that the EU is about to immediately scan messages
01:55even before they're being sent is still premature.
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